About marca d'água collection/exhibition
A relationship between matter, memory and gesture.
This exhibition took place during the 3rd edition of Lisbon Design Week in 2025 and brings together a series of ceramic tanks alongside the cotton cloths used in their construction process. More than mere working tools, these cloths have become silent testimonies of the gesture—they hold the marks of the cuts, the weight of the clay, and the movement of the hands.
The exhibition offered a look into what remains: the vestiges of making, the memory of labor, and water as a transversal element - present in the ceramic process, the washing tanks of the past, and the fluidity of time.
For decades, laundry washing basins were central elements of domestic and community life, especially in rural areas. Found in the backyards of homes or in public washhouses, they were often built near natural springs or wells.
Beyond their practical function, these washhouses were also places of gathering and sharing among women, where stories, knowledge, and local news were exchanged. Over time, with the arrival of washing machines, the tanks fell into disuse, yet they remain a symbol of a way of life more deeply connected to the land, manual labor, and community living.
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